Running Forward
by steampunkqueen2489
Summary: A young woman named Elizabeth Valentine comes into town, running away from her abusive uncle. Joe convinces Ben to let her stay at the ranch, and pay her for helping around the ranch. What ensues.
1. Chapter 1

()A young woman named Elizabeth Valentine comes into town, running away from her abusive uncle. Joe convinces Ben to let her stay at the ranch, and pay her for helping around the ranch. What ensues.

She looked around the small town of Virginia City and the countryside that enveloped it. It was, in a way, overwhelming. She had never been on her own before, but this was better than staying where she had been. She had very little money, and just a small bag with a few belongings and some clothing. She had to admit that she was feeling a little lost. In the process of looking around, she wasn't watching where she was going, and bumped into someone. She was knocked to the ground, and her bag was knocked out of her hand. She looked up to see a young man, no doubt the one she bumped into, standing over her, holding his hand out to help her up.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." she said, taking the man's hand, letting him help her up.

"It's alright. No harm done. Are you alright?" he said.

"Yes." she said, "My pride is hurt, but I'll live." She looked at the man's face for the first time. He was young, handsome, with wavy black hair, and dark grey eyes. She smiled at him, an embarrassed smile, and tucked some of her brown hair behind her ear. The man picked her bag up off of the ground and handed it to her.

"Thank you." she said.

"So, who are you, anyhow? I don't ever remember seeing you around." the young man said.

"Oh, no, you wouldn't have. I just got here a few minutes ago. My name is Elizabeth, Elizabeth Valentine." she said.

"Joe Cartwright." the young man, Joe, said, holding out his hand. She shook hands with him.

"A pleasure to meet you." she said.

"So, where are you headed? You looked kind of lost." Joe said.

"Yes. I... nowhere in particular. I don't exactly have any place to go. But, I'm sure I can find somewhere... a hotel or something?" Elizabeth said.

"Now, wait a minute." Joe said, bringing his hand to his chin as if he was thinking, "Why don't I ask my pa if you can stay with us. We own the Ponderosa ranch outside of town. I'm sure we have an extra room we can put you up in."

"I... I don't know. I wouldn't want to bother you." Elizabeth said.

"Oh, no. It wouldn't be a bother." Joe said.

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked.

"Sure, I'm sure. Just come with me." Joe said. She followed him over to where there was a black and white horse.

"Have you ever ridden a horse?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Alright. Well, I'll help you. It's easy." Joe said. He lifted her up and put her on the horse, then, he himself got up onto the horse.

"Hold onto me, okay?" Joe told her. She nodded. They rode to what Elizabeth assumed to be the ranch Joe had told her about. It was a large, beautiful piece of land, so different than where she had come from, the city atmosphere of San Francisco. Joe got down off of the horse, then helped Elizabeth down. She could see two men coming from the ranchhouse. One of them was a husky man, and the other was tall with dark hair, and older looking than Joe and the husky man.

"Little Joe, who's your friend here?" the husky man asked as the two men approached Joe and Elizabeth. Elizabeth moved slightly closer to Joe, slightly leary of the two men that she didn't know.

"This is Elizabeth. Elizabeth, this is my brother, Hoss, and my brother, Adam." Joe said. Adam was the dark haired, older looking one, and Hoss was the husky one.

"Hello. Nice to meet you both." Elizabeth said.

"A pleasure, ma'am." Hoss said. Adam just tipped his hat.

"Is pa around?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. He's inside." Hoss said, motioning for them to follow him. Joe and Elizabeth followed Hoss and Adam inside.

"Hey, pa. Little Joe wants to talk to you." Hoss said to an older man who was sitting in a chair. Elizabeth assumed it to be the boys' father. The man turned around to face them.

"Joe, who's this?" he asked.

"My name is Elizabeth Valentine." Elizabeth said, holding out her hand, though somewhat hesitantly. The man shook hands with her.

"Ben Cartwright." he said.

"Elizabeth just came into town. She doesn't have any place to live, and she only has a little bit of money. I was thinking we could put her up in the guest room, and, if she wanted a job, we could pay her to help around the ranch." Joe said.

"Joe." Ben said, looking at his son, a firm look on his face.

"Come on, pa. Are we going to put her out on the streets? I thought we helped those in need. Besides, it could be good to have her around here." Joe said. Ben looked at his youngest son for a moment.

"Alright, Joe." he said. Just then, an Asian man walked in from one of the other rooms.

"Who is this lady?" the Asian man asked, pointing to Elizabeth. The man had an extremely heavy Asian accent.

"Hop Sing, this is Elizabeth Valentine. She'll be staying here at the Ponderosa with us. Elizabeth, this is Hop Sing. He's works for us. He's our cook." Ben Cartwright introduced them.

"This mean one more mouth for Hop Sing to feed." the Asian man, Hop Sing, said, "I quit, Mister Cartwright."

"Now, just wait a minute, Hop Sing." Hoss said calmly, "This little lady prob'ly don't eat near to nothing. She's just a tiny little thing. So, please, Hop Sing, just go on back to the kitchen."

"Yeah, and, Hop Sing, who could complain about having such a pretty face around?" Joe said, grinning.

Grumbling under his breath, Hop Sing went back to the kitchen.

"Alright. Come on, Elizabeth. I'll show you to the guest room." Joe said. He led her down the hall and into a small room.

"This is it." he said.

"It's nice." she said, smiling at him as she set her bag on the floor, "Thank you, Joe." She sat down on the bed, and Joe walked over to her.

"Can I sit down?" he asked.

"Of course." Elizabeth said.

"So, did you come here by yourself?" Joe asked.

"Well, I... I'm sort of... running from someone." Elizabeth said.

"What do you mean? Who?" Joe asked.

"About a year ago, my father died. I was sent to live with my uncle. But... my uncle is a bad man. He abused me. All the time. Even over nothing. He didn't have to have a reason. He just took his anger out on me." Elizabeth said, rolling up a sleeve, revealing a bruise on her arm.

"Elizabeth. I'm so sorry. That's horrible. How could he do something like that?" Joe said.

"Thank you. I don't want to be treated like a victim, though. That's why I don't tell many people. To tell you the truth, I was a little lost when you found me." she said.

"I guess it's a good thing you ran into me, then. Literally." Joe said, grinning.

"Yes. I'm really sorry about that, Little Joe." she said.

"It's alright. I'm glad you did." Joe said, "Well, I'm going to let you unpack your stuff. I'll see you in a little while, alright?" He stood up and walked to the doorway, but turned to look at Elizabeth again before leaving. "If you need anything, just let me know."

Joe walked back out to the living room with his father and brothers.

"Boy, Joe, it's awfully nice of you to be such a gracious host to that girl." Adam said.

"Well, you know me. I just love to help." Joe said, grinning. Hoss laughed, and Ben just rolled his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, Elizabeth woke to the sunlight streaming in the window. She had slept well, and so far, she had enjoyed her time with the Cartwrights, especially Joe... Before staying with the Cartwrights, she hadn't slept so peacefully for so long. Now, she didn't have to worry about her uncle banging down the door and beating her. She sat up when she heard a knock at the door.

"Elizabeth, are you awake?"

She heard Little Joe's voice from the other side of the door.

"Yes." she said.

"Pa wanted me to tell you, you can come have some breakfast when you're ready." Joe said.

"Alright. I'll be there in a minute." Elizabeth said. She got dressed and joined the Cartwrights for breakfast in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Elizabeth." Joe said, smiling.

"Good morning, Joe." she said, smiling back at him. She was sure that Joe Cartwright had the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Then, she looked around the table. "Good morning, everyone." she said.

"Good morning, miss." Hoss said.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. Did you sleep alright?" Ben said.

"Yes, Mr. Cartwright. I slept well. Thank you." she said. Adam was looking at his youngest brother, Joe, who kept his eyes on Elizabeth almost the whole time during breakfast. After breakfast, Elizabeth went outside to look around.

"Hey, pa. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, Joe. What is it?" Ben said. Joe's two brothers gathered around to hear what was being said.

"Elizabeth told me why she went to Virginia City. She's running from her uncle, who abuses her. She showed me one of the bruises." Joe said.

"What about her parents?" Adam asked.

"They're dead, Adam. She was sent to live with her uncle, but he beat her, so she ran away." Joe said.

"And why are you telling me this?" Ben asked.

"No reason. I just thought you should know in case you were thinking about changing your mind about letting her stay here. Now, you can't just put her out on the streets. She's got nobody to go to, nowhere to go." Joe said.

"Joe, I wasn't thinking about changing my mind." Ben said.

"Well, good. Glad to hear it then." Joe said. Then, he turned and walked outside.

"Hey there, Libby. Do you want me to show you around?" Joe said, walking over to her.

"Libby?" she said, looking at him with her dark brown eyes.

"Well, it's just a nickname. If you don't want me to call you that..."

"No, it's alright. You can call me that. I like it." she said before Little Joe could finish what he was saying.

"Oh. Okay. Good." Joe said as they walked side by side.

"Joe." she said, "What would you say if I told you I was leaving?"

"What? Leaving? I thought you wanted to stick around. You've only been here a couple days. Is something wrong? Did any of us do something to offend you?" Joe said.

"Joe, I want to stay more than anything, but..." she said, looking to the ground.

"Libby, what's the matter?" he said, his dark eyes full of concern.

"My uncle isn't going to give up. He won't stop until he finds me. And there's no telling what he'll do to get me back, not because he wants me back, but because he doesn't want me to escape his torment. He's crazy, and by being here, I put all of you in danger. You'll all be safer if I leave. I don't want any of you to get hurt because of me, especially you, Little Joe." she said. Little Joe put his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Libby, listen to me. We're not afraid of your uncle. We can defend ourselves and then some. We don't care if he comes for you. He can try. But, we won't let him have you. You're staying here with us. Understand?" Joe said.

"You're sure?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes. And my pa and brothers feel the same. I told them about your uncle, and they still want you to stay. Alright?" Joe said. Elizabeth nodded.

"Thank you. I swear I'll find a way to repay you someday." she said.

"You don't have to repay us, Libby." Joe said.

"Well, I will someday, anyway." she said, smiling at him.

"You're kind of feisty, aren't you?" Joe said, grinning at her. She laughed a little, something Joe had not seen her do since he met her, and he was glad he was the one who made her laugh.

"Maybe a little." she said, still grinning.

"Yeah, I'm kind of getting that impression. Come on. I'm going to give you your first lesson in horseback riding. Don't worry. It's easy. You'll be fine." Joe said. He led her to the barn and began saddling up one of the horses.

"This horse, from now on, is your horse." he said. The horse was a black horse with a white stripe down the front of it's face, a beautiful horse.

"You're really giving this horse to me?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah. Think of it as a gift. You'll need a horse. And, besides, look around. We've got plenty of them." Little Joe said, grinning.

"Your family has been much too generous to me already." Elizabeth said.

"Well, just humor me. Alright?" Joe said.

"Alright. But, you're still assuming that I'm able to learn to ride." she said.

"Aw, please. You can learn. A monkey can learn. My brother, Hoss, was able to learn. You'll have no problem." Joe said. Elizabeth smiled.

"Alright then, so, if I'm not able to learn, I'm worse than a monkey, right?" she said, grinning.

"If you're a monkey, then you're the prettiest monkey I've ever seen." Joe said. Elizabeth laughed.

"Actually, I'd be worse than a monkey if a monkey could learn and I couldn't. I wouldn't be even as smart as a monkey." she said.

"You'll be fine. You're way smarter than a monkey." Joe said, grinning. Elizabeth smiled.

"Thanks. I think." she said.

Joe and Elizabeth led the horse out of the barn, and over to a grassy area. Elizabeth got up onto the horse with Joe standing near, ready to catch her if need be. She had no problem getting up on the horse.

"There, see. I told you. You're a natural." Joe said. Just then, the horse decided to rear up, throwing her from it's back, right into Joe's arms. They stared at each other.

"Well, that was something." Joe finally said, grinning.

"Yes. I... thank you, Joe." she said.

"Yeah. Sure." Joe said.

"Little Joe, you can put me down now." she said, smiling.

"Oh, yeah. Sure." he said. He gently let her down, and they stood, staring at each other, still holding onto each other's shoulders. Joe leaned his face in and kissed her. At first, she was so shocked that she did nothing, but then, she kissed him back. She ran her fingers through his thick, wavy hair, which felt just as beautiful as it looked, and he placed a hand on her back. They both stopped and turned around when they heard a voice behind them.

"Oh, Little Joe." Joe's two brothers were standing there. Adam was just shaking his head. Likely, he was the one who had spoken. Hoss just stood there, staring at Joe and Elizabeth. Elizabeth just stood, looking at the ground, trying not to make eye contact with Joe's two brothers, and Joe just stood looking at his brothers with that mischievous looking grin of his.

"Joe, it amazes me how you can have only known her for a couple of days, and already you've worked your charm on her." Adam said.

"You jealous, Adam?" Joe said, grinning at his oldest brother.

"Yeah, Joe. I'm just too jealous of you." Adam said sarcastically. Then, he looked at Elizabeth. "No offense to you, Miss Valentine." he said. With this, though, he was being sincere.

"It's alright, Adam. No offense taken. And, you can just call me Libby." Elizabeth said.

"Alright, then, Libby. Come on, Hoss. Let's leave these two to their "horseback riding lessons"." Adam said, grinning. He and Hoss walked away, snickering.

"Don't worry about my brothers. They're idiots." Joe said.

"They're just being brothers." Elizabeth said, laughing as she climbed back up onto the horse. Joe laughed.

"Yeah, idiot brothers." he said. Elizabeth was a quick learner, having pretty much learned horseback riding by the end of the day.

"Are you sure you've never been on a horse before?" Joe asked. Elizabeth laughed.

"I'm sure." she said.

"Then, you're a fast learner. You know that?" Joe said, smiling at her as the two of them walked back towards the ranchhouse after putting the horse up in the barn. It was dark by then, and Joe was carrying a lantern.

"Well, thank you. It wasn't very hard, though." Elizabeth said, smiling back at him as they walked side by side.

"See? Told you it was easy." Joe said, "You know, you never told me where you're from."

"You're right. I didn't." she said.

"I'm just curious. That's all." Joe said.

"I know. I'm just joking with you." she said, "I'm from California. San Francisco." They went inside and joined the other three Cartwrights at the table for dinner.

"Sorry if we're late for dinner, pa." Joe said. Ben just looked at him.

"Little Joe here was giving Libby some "horseback riding lessons"." Hoss said, smirking slightly, which also earned a smirk from Adam and a glare from their youngest brother.

Ben just looked at his two older sons suspiciously, then, ignoring them, he turned to talk to Elizabeth.

"Do you prefer to be called Libby?" he asked.

"Yes sir, Mr. Cartwright." she said. For as feisty as she was, she was also very respectful to her elders, most of the time. Ben smiled.

"Please. Just Ben." he said.

"Libby is a real quick learner. She's really smart." Joe said, looking at Elizabeth and smiling.

"Well, I didn't master it right away. I got thrown off the very first time." Elizabeth said.

"What? You got thrown off? Are you alright?" Ben asked.

"Don't worry. I was there to catch her." Joe said.

"Yes, I got thrown off, but Joe caught me. I never even hit the ground." she said, "And I'm sure I would have been fine even if I had hit the ground. I've taken some pretty nasty falls before."

"Joe, you are such a gentleman." Adam said, sarcastically.

"So, Miss Libby, where are you from?" Hoss asked.

"California." Elizabeth answered.

"Really? Where?" Adam asked.

"San Francisco." she said. After they finished eating, Elizabeth insisted on washing the dishes.

"Oh, Mr. Cartwr... I mean, Ben." Elizabeth said as the others got up from the table.

"Yes, Libby." Ben said.

"Thank you for everything." Elizabeth said.

"Not a problem, Libby." Ben said, smiling before going into the living room with his sons.

"She seems awful nervous all the time." Hoss said.

"Yeah, I noticed that, too." Ben said.

"You don't think she's afraid of us." Adam said.

"Well, she's not afraid of Little Joe. We know that much." Hoss said, laughing, earning a laugh from Adam, too. Ben looked at his two older sons quizzically.

"Well, we'll just say her and Joe have become pretty well acquainted." Adam said. Ben looked from Adam and Hoss to Joe, and grinned, looking as if he'd figured out what they were implying.

"All right. Yeah, you two are real funny." Joe said.

"Alright, you two." Ben said, still grinning slightly, "That's enough for one night."

"She's afraid her uncle is going to come looking for her and one of us is going to get hurt. She was going to leave until I talked her into staying." Joe said.

"She told you that?" Adam asked.

"Yeah." Joe said.

"Did you tell her not to worry about us? We can take care of ourselves." Hoss said.

"Yeah. I told her. That's why she finally decided to stay." Joe said.

"You can tell her she'll be safe with us." Ben said.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, Libby, do you want to go for a ride into town? I can show you around." Joe asked, a couple of days later.

"That sounds good." Elizabeth said. The two of them got their horses and rode into Virginia City. They hitched up their horses and began walking through town, Joe telling her about everything in town as they walked. At one point, Joe went into the general store, and before Elizabeth could follow him inside, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her around the corner, to the side of the building, shoving her against the wall with their hand over her mouth, keeping her from screaming. It was her uncle.

"I've been watching you, Elizabeth. I was just waiting for the right time, waiting for you to get away from those Cartwrights for a little while. You sure have taking a liking to young Joe Cartwright, haven't you, you little whore?" her uncle said.

"Libby! Libby!"

She could hear Joe calling her name, and she could see him out in front of the building looking for her.

"If you even open your mouth to scream, or make one wrong move, your precious Joe Cartwright is a dead man." her uncle said, pulling out a gun, and removing his hand from her mouth. She stayed silent. Yes, Little Joe carried a gun on his hip at almost all times, but, her uncle had the element of surprise on Joe. Her uncle could shoot Joe before Joe even knew what was coming.

"Come on, Elizabeth. You're coming with me." her uncle said, pulling her by the arm, out to the outskirts of town, in the dessert.

"I'm going to make you regret the day you ran away from me." her uncle said, slapping her across the face. She looked him straight in the face and spit on him.

"Go to hell, you bastard." she said. He slapped her again, harder this time, causing her to fall to the ground. A few tears glistened in her eyes, but she wouldn't let herself cry.

"You little bitch. I'll knock out your teeth so you can't speak to me like that ever again. You should have died with your father." he said, kicking her in her side.

Back in town, Joe was still looking for her. He couldn't understand where she could have gone. She didn't know her way around the town. It wouldn't make any sense for her to wander around. He thought for sure she had changed her mind about leaving. Then, he looked over to where they had hitched their horses. He noticed that both of their horses were still hitched there. She wouldn't get very far without a horse, and she was smart enough not to try. Then, Joe noticed footprints in the dirt and sand, two sets of footprints, leading around the side of the building. He followed them, walking around to the side, and saw that they led straight out of the city, out into the desert. Joe immediately knew something was wrong, and he had a feeling that it involved Elizabeth's uncle. Joe ran to the jail, to the sheriff's office.

"Sheriff, there's a girl that came into town with me. Her name is Libby. I think something bad might have happened to her. I don't have time to explain, but, I need you to ride out to the Ponderosa and get my pa and brothers. I'm going to ride into the desert and see if I can find Libby. Tell my pa and brothers where I went." Joe said.

"Alright." the sheriff said. Joe got his horse and followed the footprints into the dessert, and the sheriff rode to the Ponderosa to get Ben, Hoss, and Adam. Joe rode for a little while before he saw Elizabeth and a man, who Joe assumed to be her uncle. Joe got down from his horse, pulled out his gun, and pointed it at Elizabeth's uncle.

"Hey!" Joe yelled, getting Elizabeth's and her uncle's attention.

"Joe." Elizabeth said.

"Joe Cartwright." her uncle said, "You came to rescue her. How nice."

"Leave her alone. I'm only going to tell you once." Joe said.

"And, I'm only going to tell you once, Cartwright." Elizabeth's uncle said, grabbing her, holding her in front of him and putting the gun to her head, "Drop your gun." Joe began to bend down to put his gun on the ground. Elizabeth leaned her head forward and bit her uncle's arm, causing him to let go of her, and Joe, who hadn't put his gun down yet, shot him. Elizabeth ran over to Little Joe, wrapping her arms around him.

"Libby, are you alright?" Joe asked.

"Yes. Joe, you saved my life." she said.

"I promised you I wouldn't let him take you, Libby." he said, placing a hand on her back. She pulled away and looked him in the eyes. Then, she leaned forward and kissed him, Joe, of course, returning the kiss. They heard the sound of horses coming up behind them. They looked to see Ben, Hoss, Adam, and the sheriff there on their horses. Adam and Hoss just had grins on their faces. Ben was smiling, only slightly. They got down off of their horses and Ben walked over to Elizabeth's uncle, who was laying in the dirt, out cold. Ben checked to see if he was still alive.

"He's dead." Ben said.

"Good. I hope the vultures leave nothing left of him." Elizabeth said.

"I shot him, pa. I had to. He had a gun to her head. He would've killed her." Joe said.

"I understand." Ben said.

"Is she alright?" Hoss asked. Elizabeth nodded.

"I'm fine, Hoss. I'll survive." she said. She stood up, but groaned, bringing her hand to her side where her uncle had kicked her. Joe put his arm around her, letting her lean on him.

"Don't worry, Joe. I'm fine." she said, wincing. Joe looked at her face and noticed that her cheek on one side was red. He assumed that her uncle most likely had hit her in the face. He touched her cheek gently.

"It's nothing." she said, putting her hand on Joe's hand. The tone of her voice told Joe that his assumption was right.

"Joe, you should probably take her to see the doctor when you get back into town." Ben said. Joe nodded.

"Yeah." he said. He picked her up and carried her over to where his horse was standing.

"Joe, I can walk, you know." she said.

Yeah, I know." Joe said, and he put her on his horse. Then, he climbed up onto his horse, and she held onto him. The others got onto their horses, and all of them rode back into town. The doctor, an older man, looked at Joe and Elizabeth as they walked in, Elizabeth with her hand still on her side.

"Joe, what happened to this girl?" the doctor asked.

"Doctor, this is Elizabeth. Her uncle did this to her." Joe said. Libby looked at Joe, then at the doctor. "It's alright, Libby. Just let the doctor look you over, just to make sure you're okay. I'll be right here." Joe said, smiling gently at her, placing a hand gently on her back. Libby nodded and walked over to the doctor. He checked her over to make sure she wasn't injured very badly.

"Other than her sides being bruised and her cheek being a little bit tender, she's fine. Her side will be a little sore for a while, but she'll be fine." the doctor said.

"See, Little Joe? I told you I was fine." she said, smiling, walking over to Joe.

"Yeah, I know." Joe said.

"Thanks, doctor." Joe said, as he and Elizabeth were leaving. Outside the doctor's building, Ben Adam, and Hoss walked up to them.

"Well?" Adam said.

"She's fine. Just some bruises." Joe said.

"I tried to tell you I was alright." she said, grinning. Ben laughed.

"So you did." he said. Then, he looked at his youngest son and said, "Hey, Joe. Your brothers and I are going to take care of some business here in town. Why don't you and Libby ride back to the Ponderosa."

"Yeah. Sure, pa." Joe said. They walked over to where Joe had tied his horse when he and Elizabeth had gotten back to town, which was right where Elizabeth's horse was still tied.

"Libby, do you think you can ride or is your side too sore?" Joe asked.

"It's fine, Joe. I can ride." she said, smiling. They got on their horses and rode in the direction of the Ponderosa.

"My father was a ship's captain. He died at sea. My mother died in childbirth. I never knew her. But, I never had any brothers or sisters. It must be really nice to have a family like yours." Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, you wouldn't be saying that if you knew my brothers like I do." Joe said, laughing, "No, I'm kidding. Most of the time, it is nice. It's like anything else. It has its goods and bads."

"Are you the youngest?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah. I'm the youngest. Adam is the oldest. My mother was different than Adam's mother, and Hoss's mother was different than both of ours." Joe said.

"So, the three of you each have different mothers? Your father was married three times?" she said.

"Yeah. My mother was from New Orleans. She was Creole. Adam's mother was from Boston. And Hoss' mother was from Sweden. All three of our mothers are dead, though." Joe said.

"But, you still have a good family, your father and brothers." Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, I do." Joe said, smiling.

That night, Elizabeth decided to go to bed early.

"Good night, Libby." Little Joe said. She stopped walking and turned around to look at him.

"Good night, Joe." she said, smiling before walking off to her room.

Joe walked down the hall, stopping as he walked by Elizabeth's room. She was wearing her nightgown, sitting in front of a mirror, brushing her long, wavy hair, which was usually worn up, but at the moment, was hanging down. Joe stood in the doorway, watching her for a moment. Then, she turned around, looking at Joe.

"Was there something you wanted, Little Joe?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"I just came to check on you, see if you were okay after what happened today." Joe said, leaning against the door frame, "Can I come in?"

"Of course." she said. Joe walked in and sat down on the bed, which was right behind the chair that Elizabeth was sitting in. She turned around to face Joe.

"My uncle was my mother's brother. I think I realize why he hated me so much. I was a reminder of why his sister is dead. She died giving birth to me, and I think my uncle thought of it every time he saw me or even thought of me." she said.

"I'm sorry." Joe said, brushing a few strands of her dark, wavy hair out of her face. She smiled, looking at him with her dark brown eyes.

"I never knew my mother. I've only seen her in photographs. My father told me she was a singer." Elizabeth said.

"A singer? Can you sing, then?" Joe asked, smiling.

"I think I'm not too bad. Father always said I sang a lot like mother. Maybe I'll let you hear me sing some time." she said.

"I'd like that." Joe said. He looked over at her dresser and saw an old photograph in a frame of a woman and a man, which he assumed to be her parents. She looked a lot like the man in the picture.

"That's my parents." she said when she noticed him looking at it, "Before I was born, obviously."

"You look a lot like your dad." Joe said, "Only, you're much prettier." Elizabeth laughed.

"I always idolized my father." she said. Joe noticed something else on her dresser. It was a small model ship literally inside a clear glass bottle. He had never seen anything like it before.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to it.

"It's a ship in a bottle. My father gave it to me. He bought it for me on one of his travels." Elizabeth said.

"But, it's impossible to fit a ship into a bottle. It's so much bigger than the opening in that bottle." Little Joe said.

"Obviously, it's not impossible. It's in the bottle, isn't it?" Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, but, how do they get in in there?" he asked.

"My father told me that the ship collapses so they can fit it through the bottle opening. Then, they unfold it once it's inside." she explained.

"Huh. Go figure. I wonder who thought of something like that." Joe said, "Your father was a sailor. Did he ever take you out on the boat with him?"

"Yes. When I was young, I practically lived on that boat with him." she said.

"That must be something. I've never been out at sea before. I've lived on the Ponderosa all my life." Joe said.

"There's nothing in the world like it. Maybe, someday, if I ever own a boat, I'll take you out so you can experience it. I always wanted to travel the world by boat." Elizabeth said.

"Wanted? But, not anymore?" Joe asked.

"Well, I..." Elizabeth said.

"What, Libby?" Joe said, looking her in the eyes.

"I do want to, but, there's something else I want, too, maybe even more. And, I can't do both." she said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Joe, I want to travel the world by boat, but, there's no way I could stay here in Nevada and do that. The only thing here is desert. There's no bodies of water, besides small rivers or lakes." she said.

"So, then, you'd leave?" he said.

"But, Joe, I don't want to leave. If I leave Nevada, I have to leave you. I don't want to leave you, Joe. I want to stay here with you. I'll earn my keep, make my own living. I'll pay your father rent to live here. I want to stay on the Ponderosa with you, if that's what you want, and if it's okay with everyone else." Elizabeth said.

"Libby, of course that's what I want. And, of course, everyone else would be fine with it. But, traveling the world by boat has been your dream for a long time. You shouldn't have to give that up. Couldn't I just come with you?" Joe said.

"Joe, your family is here. They need you on the Ponderosa. I'm not leaving anyone behind by staying here." she said, "And, I don't have to give up my dream. I don't have to so anything. I'm choosing to give it up so I can stay with you." Joe leaned forward, kissing her.


	4. Chapter 4

A couple of weeks later, Elizabeth was sitting and watching Adam and Ben play chess. She had come to idolize Adam, like one would a big brother, and, though, of course, no one could ever replace her father, Ben was a good father figure to her. She had even come to care for Hoss like a brother. Her feelings for Little Joe, though, were completely different. She was in love with him. Joe walked in the front door of the ranchhouse.

"Joe, where have you been all morning?" Ben asked.

"You know, pa, I was...out." Joe said.

"Well, we could tell that much. You weren't here doing your work this morning." Adam said.

"Yeah, sorry. I was in town." Joe said.

"You should have said you was going into town, Little Joe. I would have gone with you." Hoss said. He was sitting in another chair, cleaning a shotgun

"Hey, Libby." Joe said, walking over to Elizabeth. She stood, looking at him with her dark brown eyes.

"Hello, Little Joe." she said.

"Libby, I have something for you." Joe said.

"For me?" she said, looking as if she had been taken by surprise.

"Yeah, there was a traveling merchant in Virginia City, and I bought you this." Joe said. He held out his hand, and in the palm of his hand was a hair clip. It was bronze, studded with some jewels, and had a design of a ship on it.

"Joe, you didn't have to..." Libby said, looking at it for a moment before taking it from his hand.

"I know girls like those kind of things, and when I saw it, I thought of you. I know you love ships and sailing, so, I thought it was perfect." Joe said, smiling.

"Joe, thank you." she said, kissing him on the cheek. Ben smiled as he watched his youngest son. Hoss, who was now standing beside the chair Ben was sitting in, smiled.

"Look at that, pa. Little Joe has really got it bad for her, don't he?" Hoss said.

"It seems that way." Ben said. They had seen Little Joe flirt with many girls, but they had never seen him act quite the way he did around Elizabeth. Adam just smiled and shook his head as he watched his youngest brother.

"Hey, Libby. Have you ever used a gun before?" Joe asked.

"No, never." Libby answered.

"Have you ever wanted to learn?" Joe asked.

"I always thought it might be interesting." Elizabeth said.

"Well, how about I teach you?" Joe said.

"I'd like that, Little Joe." Libby said.

"So would I." Joe said, smiling.

"So, when can we start?" Libby asked.

"Right now if you want to." Joe said.

"Alright. Let's go." Libby said. Joe smiled, and led her outside. She waved to the other Cartwrights before following Joe out.

"See you in a while, Miss Libby." Hoss said. Adam nodded to her, and Ben waved. Joe led her over to a fence, setting four cans on it. He explained to her the basics of how to use the gun, then, handed the gun to her. He held her hands, positioning her hands and fingers how they needed to be. They stared at each other for a moment before Little Joe finally let to of her hands, and stepped back, telling her to shoot. She aimed and pulled the trigger, and though she missed the can, she did manage to hit the fence it was sitting on.

"Here, let me help steady your hands." Joe said. He stood behind her, and helped to hold her hands still.

"There. Try it now." he said. She aimed, pulled the trigger, and managed to shoot one of the cans off of the fence. They both smiled as they looked at each other.

"Beautiful, and a good shot. Is there anything you can't do?" Joe said.

"You're such a flatterer, Little Joe." she said, "But, I only did it with your help."

"Well, you know, us New Orleans boys are so charming." Joe said, grinning.

"That must be what it is." Libby said, laughing slightly.

"Really, though, Libby, I didn't aim that gun for you. I just helped hold your hands steady. And, the more you practice, your hands will get steadier. Then, sadly, I won't have to hold your hands anymore." Joe said, grinning as he said the last part. Libby grinned.

"Little Joe, you can hold my hands any time." she said. Joe smiled and kissed her.

"Hey," she said when they broke the kiss, "You forgot to mention one more thing I was good at."

"Oh yeah?"

"Horseback riding." she said, grinning proudly, "Don't forget how quickly I learned that."

"That's right. Well, I'll add that and kissing to the long list of things you're good at." Joe said. She just smiled, shaking her head. Then, Joe leaned in and kissed her again.

()just, a little fun fact. Elizabeth's horse's name is Aurora.

After a couple more weeks of practice, Elizabeth got to be a pretty decent shot with a gun, and she also proved to be pretty helpful around the Ponderosa ranch.

One day, after about a month of living with the Cartwrights on the Ponderosa, Elizabeth was in the barn, brushing her horse, when Little Joe walked in.

"Hey, Libby" he said.

"Hello, Joe." she said, smiling at him.

"Hey, are you busy right now?" he asked.

"No. Not really." Libby said.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to go riding with me." he said.

"Sure. Just let me finish brushing Aurora and we can go." she said.

"Alright. I'll saddle up Cochise." Joe said. They rode for a while, and then, stopped on the banks of Lake Tahoe.

"Why don't we take a break for a while, stop here?" Joe said. Joe had been acting a little odd all morning. Even his brothers and father had remarked on it.

"Well, sure. All right." Elizabeth said. They got down off of their horses.

"Little Joe, is everything alright?" Libby asked.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Don't worry about me. I want to ask you something, though, Libby." he said. His face was serious, not an expression worn often by Little Joe. He was usually smiling or laughing or joking around. She was afraid that maybe something was wrong, or that she had done something wrong, but, she let him continue with what he was saying.

"Alright. Go ahead." she said, her face just as serious as his.

"I'm not really sure how to ask you this. I didn't think this would be so hard for me. I'm usually so smooth with women, but, well, here it is..." he said, pausing before saying what he was about to say. He got down on one knee, and pulled something from his coat pocket and holding it up to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Valentine, will you marry me? Will you be Mrs. Joseph Cartwright? I never pictured myself doing this, but, Libby, you're not like any woman I've ever met. I've never felt this way about anybody before. I've never been in love before, but, I'm pretty sure this is what it's supposed to feel like." he said. Elizabeth was stunned. This must have been why he had been acting so odd all morning.

"Joe, yes. Yes, of course I'll marry you! I'd love nothing more than to be your wife!" she said. Joe smiled and stood, putting the ring on her finger. It wasn't extremely fancy, just a few jewels on it, but it didn't matter to her. She would take any ring if it was from Joe Cartwright. She jumped into his arms, hugging him. He hugged her, running a hand through her dark, wavy hair.

"I love you, Libby." he said.

"I love you, Joe." she said. They kissed, and then walked over to their horses.

"What are you staring at, Cochise?" Joe said to his horse, grinning and petting his horse on the neck. Libby laughed slightly, petting her horse on the head, and Joe laughed with her.

"How about we ride for a while longer, then go back to the Ponderosa and tell pa and my brothers." Joe said.

"Alright." she said. They rode for a while longer, and then rode back to the Ponderosa.

"Where have you two been all day?" Adam asked when Joe and Elizabeth walked into the house.

"You two late for dinner. Hop SIng thought we have to waste dinner." Hop Sing said.

"We're sorry, Hop Sing. We'll have some of your dinner now, though. It won't go to waste." Libby said.

"Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. Yes, have dinner now." Hop SIng said.

"Pa, Adam, Hoss, we have something to tell you." Joe said. Ben was curious as to what it was. He could see the excitement on his young son's face.

"Alright. What is it, son?" Ben asked. Joe grabbed Elizabeth's hand.

"You guys are looking at my new fiance." Joe told his father and brothers.

"Joe, are you saying..." Ben started to say.

"Yeah, pa, I asked Elizabeth to marry me and she said yes!" Joe said. He had a huge smile on his face as he and Elizabeth walked over to the others.

"Well, I'll be..." Hoss said, smiling, staring at his youngest brother.

"I can't believe it. My youngest brother is engaged before me." Adam said, smiling slightly. Ben hugged Joe.

"Congratulations, son!" he said. Then, hugging Elizabeth, he said, "Congratulations, Libby."

"Thank you, pa." Joe said.

"Thank you, Ben." Libby said.

"Congratulations, Little Joe." Hoss said, hugging his younger brother. Then, he said, "Congratulations, Miss Libby."

"Congratulations, you two." Adam said, patting his youngest brother on the back.

"Hey, you people eat dinner, or what?" Hop Sing said. He was standing by the table.

"Hop Sing, my son is getting married!" Ben said.

"Now, we just got to get Adam a wife. Isn't that right, older brother?" Hoss said, elbowing Adam. Adam just grinned slightly.

"Hop SIng, we'll eat dinner right now. Calm down." Elizabeth said. They all walked over to the table and ate dinner.


End file.
